1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to biofuels production, and more particularly, relates to an apparatus, system and method for manufacturing liquid precursors and solid precursors.
2. Description of Related Art
The production of alcohol such as ethanol frequently uses corn as a feedstock and requires high energy input, typically from fossil fuels. Ethanol holds promise as a fuel source that is not petroleum based; a desirable goal for the United States and other countries seeking energy independence and lower environmental impact. Unfortunately ethanol production in the United States has come under scrutiny due to the need for large amounts of fossil fuel to both process the ethanol and also to ship the feedstock to a central refinery.
There exists an unmet need for improved processes, methods, systems and equipment to produce biofuels such as alcohols, for example ethanol, with power energy input demands. This reduction in energy use can come from various improvements including process improvements at the biorefinery as well as improvements in feedstock production, processing and transportation. These improvements are necessary if ethanol and related biofuels are to become a viable long term source of transportation fuel and transportation fuel additives.
In the United States corn is the primary feedstock for ethanol production due to the climate and available growing conditions. To make a biorefinery cost effective, feedstock should be available year round to maintain continuous production and ensure proper and adequate utilization of plant and equipment. Storage of feedstock becomes a necessity to meet these operating objectives. Unfortunately storage of feedstock represents additional costs both in storage and transportation, serving to further misalign the cost targets of ethanol production. There exists an unmet need for improved feedstock storage and processing to reduce the overall costs of ethanol and related biofuel production.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an improved feedstock processing and storage system. It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus to produce liquid precursors for biofuels production such as alcohols, for example, ethanol. It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that separates liquid precursors from solid precursors. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for producing biofuels that uses a liquid precursor from a plurality of distributed sources. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for producing biofuels that reduces transportation costs from the feedstock source to the biorefinery. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for biofuels production that reduces process energy use. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for producing solid precursors from feedstock that have utility and are environmentally benign. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and system for producing biofuels that reduces feedstock storage requirements at the biorefinery. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method, system and apparatus that reduces the size, cost and operating energy usage of a biorefinery.
These and other objects of the present invention are described in the detailed specification, drawings and claims contained herein.